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Zorluk: ZorWeakening Arguments

To reduce long-term municipal energy expenses, the city of Varna plans to replace standard double-pane glass with advanced electrochromic smart glass across all municipal office buildings. The smart glass automatically darkens in response to intense sunlight, significantly reducing the energy needed to power air-conditioning systems during warm months. City planners estimate that the resulting energy savings will fully offset the initial purchase and installation costs within four years. Therefore, the planners conclude that adopting smart glass will reduce the city's total administrative operating costs over the next ten years. Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the planners' argument?

  1. Electrochromic smart glass blocks a substantial portion of natural visible light when darkened, requiring office buildings to run internal electric lighting at full capacity during daylight hours.Cevap
  2. B
    Recent technological advances in electrochromic glass manufacturing have reduced the failure rate of electronic tinting controls by more than half.
  3. C
    Private residential housing developers in neighboring municipalities overwhelmingly prefer triple-pane insulated glass over electrochromic smart glass.
  4. D
    The city council recently rejected a separate proposal to upgrade insulation in municipal building roofs, a project that would have yielded modest energy improvements.
  5. E
    Municipal office buildings account for a smaller percentage of Varna's total citywide energy consumption than public street lighting and transit facilities.

Cevap

The argument is most seriously weakened by the statement that electrochromic smart glass blocks natural visible light when darkened, forcing municipal office buildings to run internal electric lighting at full capacity during daylight hours.
The correct answer identifies a major counterproductive side effect of the proposed plan. If the smart glass reduces natural light entry when darkened, artificial lighting must be operated at full capacity during peak daylight hours. This added electrical load directly offsets the energy saved on air conditioning, undermining the planners' conclusion that total administrative operating costs will decrease over the ten-year period.

Adım Adım Çözüm

1
Deconstruct the argument structure
Premise: Smart glass darkens in sunlight, reducing summer air-conditioning energy use. Premise: Energy savings offset purchase and installation costs in 4 years. Conclusion: Smart glass installation will reduce total administrative operating costs over 10 years.
Identifying the explicit premises and conclusion reveals the core assumption.
2
Identify the central unstated assumption
The planners assume that reducing air-conditioning energy use will yield a net reduction in overall energy expenses without creating offsetting operational costs during the 10-year timeframe.
A plan-to-goal argument relies on the assumption that hidden side effects or secondary costs will not negate the projected benefits.
3
Evaluate the impact of new factual information
If darkening the glass necessitates running electric lights at full capacity throughout the day, the electricity cost for lighting increases significantly whenever air-conditioning savings occur, negating the expected net cost reduction.
Showing a direct, counteracting financial cost undermines the conclusion that net administrative expenses will decline.

Anahtar Kavram

Weakening a Plan-to-Goal Causal Argument via Unintended Side Effects
Tahmini Süre:2m 0s
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Weakening Arguments

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